We live in a culture designed to distract. Screens dominate our life. We work on screens. There are screens in our elevators, schools, and taxis. We carry screens in our pocket for the times between other screens. We even have smaller screens within our screens.
Emails, chats, texts, pads, pods, and clouds have become leashes jerking us out of our quiet time. They demand our attention, leaving us no room for solitude or deep thought.
When I was a kid, there was a time and a place for a phone call—the phone was nailed to the wall. Now, it’s all the time, including at the dinner table or on the john (seriously?). We hand our distraction down to our toddlers when we give them our phones to amuse and babysit, so they, too, become incapable of handling boredom. The new tools have made it too easy for us to get sidetracked from the meaningful experiences of our lives.
Our brains are being rewired, our etiquette forgotten. We’re learning new habits but sadly forgetting the powerful instincts we were born with. We now trust our senses, memories, and gut feelings less and put all our faith in Google. These bad habits rot the discipline necessary for contemplation or study and rob us of the grit necessary to follow through with long-term goals.
This is a technology problem and an addiction problem. As with any addiction, we need to take charge of it in order to stay committed and reach our goals.
Craft takes concentration, excellence takes time. To be serious about our work, we must be conscious of the time we spend on ourselves versus the time we spend on screens.
Make your life easier. Kill your fucking phone, and save your soul.
